The Franklin County auditor expects the values of the county’s 430,000 properties to rise to historic heights when it completes its 2023 mass appraisal in December.
While the 2020 valuation update grew values at a record rate of 20%, county Auditor Michael Stinziano expects this appraisal to surpass it with property value increases of 30 to 40%.
In addition to economic and population growth, the surging values are driven by outside investment firms buying up property and slow residential home building, making the county one of the “hottest” real estate markets in the country, Stinziano said.
“It really is reflective of our ongoing population growth in Franklin County and the decades of lack of housing to meet that population growth,” Stinziano said. “I think folks are well aware that we need to be doubling, if not tripling, annually the housing stock to meet the ongoing growth in population.”
Stinziano said home-sale data over the past 24 months already show the number of sales in the county isn’t rising, but the value of the properties being exchanged is.
So, the increase will have a bigger impact on the cost of property in the county than on the property taxes the owner will have to pay.
“An increased property value does not mean a one-to-one increase in property taxes,” Stinziano said. “It's your property value combined with your taxing district. That taxing district is established mostly at the ballot box. It's how we get to property taxes.”
Owners in communities across Franklin County saw an average increase in property taxes of about 7% after the 2020 valuation, Stinziano said. But, some communities saw a bigger jump because of levies voters approved.
“For example, Gahanna saw a 22% value increase and their property taxes went up about 27%, because they approved an issue at the ballot in Gahanna,” Stinziano said.
New levies approved after the new valuations take effect will tax the properties at the higher valuation.
Owners will receive a tentative valuation in August and will be finalized in December. During that time, owners can work with the auditor’s office if they think their property was valued incorrectly.
“We are encouraging anyone who feels the value is too high or too low to either submit documents electronically or meet – either virtually or in person – with an appraiser to work together to establish what could be a change in the valuation,” Stinziano said.
Now, owners can check out their property card on the auditor’s website and update the auditor’s office with information that might change the valuation, like additions and new bathrooms.
People can visit the Know Your Home Value website for more information.
“We don't go inside the homes, so a property owner plays an important role. Even now, go to the auditor’s website, look at the characteristics for the property that we have,” Stinziano said. “If we are off on square footage, or a bathroom, or there is work done – that's all information we have to hear directly from the property owner.”
The assessor started the process of visiting each property in the county two years ago.
Ohio law requires mass assessments every six years, with valuation updates every three years. The assessors work with the Ohio Department of Taxation to assign values.
